Scatter Plots are one of the most powerful and most widely used techniques for visual data exploration. As the number of data points increases, scatter plots often have a high degree of overlap, which may occlude a significant portion of the data values shown. The present generalized scatter plot technique allows an overlap-free representation of large datasets to fit entirely into a single display.
The basic idea is to allow a user to optimize both a degree of overlap and a degree of distortion to generate a best possible view. In some embodiments, user inputs allow a user to zoom smoothly between a traditional scatter plot and a generalized scatter plot. Optimization functions may take overlap and distortion of the visualization into account. The present generalized scatter plots may be applied to a number of real-world applications, such as server performance monitoring, telephone service usage analysis, and financial data.